Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A life diagram is a graphic snapshot of the most significant days and events of your life. Each person’s diagram has some commonalities as well as richness in diversity.

Children and adults are encouraged to make a life diagram and revisit every few years. For parents, this could be an instrumental tool to understand your child’s current perspective. It's also a great activity for school age children home for the summer. Adults and teens should gain a greater awareness of important relationships/experiences and their impact over time.

Example life diagrams are shown below as well as a web link to download diagram templates. Young children draw pictures of significant events. Older children/teens list experiences and arrange color coded dots. Adults use a simple Excel format that automatically generates a graphic diagram. A goal for the Human Life Project is to collect the first 50 life diagrams over the summer.

What can we learn from our own life diagram as well as studing other children and adults? What improvements could be made to the current life diagram format?

The Human Life Project is insightful in the valuable contribution of the family to build sustainable communities.

Many cities are promoting renewable energy, recycling, green building design, pedestrian-friendly urban spaces, parks, and public transit. While these initiatives currently define sustainable communities, an opportunity exists to discuss the natural and built environment in conjunction with our social relationships.